To mark its genuine 50th anniversary, “Saturday Night Live” kicked off the week’s festivities with a memorable opening sketch starring beloved alums Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.
Host Amy Poehler brilliantly portrayed Attorney General Pam Bondi in a hilarious send-up of her recent Senate Judiciary Committee testimony. Adding to the excitement, Tina Fey made a surprise cameo as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Poehler wasted no time setting the tone, greeting the committee with a sarcastic, “What’s up, nerds? Furious to be here.” When asked to confirm the truthfulness of her testimony, her character responded with a dismissive laugh and a resounding, “No.”
She humorously clarified her character’s name spelling as “Bondi with an ‘I’ ’cause I ain’t gonna answer any questions,” adding that the Justice Department’s operations were “moving like Kash Patel’s eyeballs, very quickly in multiple directions at once.”
Poehler’s character didn’t hold back, playfully mocking several senators, including a deadpan Mikey Day as Senator Richard Blumenthal, with the line, “Even people in Connecticut go ‘damn, that guy’s white as hell.'”
When pressed about the need for U.S. troops to guard Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, Poehler’s Bondi turned to Fey’s Noem. With a dramatic entrance, Fey burst into the hearing, wielding a large automatic weapon and quipping, “Hold my gun,” before tossing it off-camera.
Fey’s Noem, equally sharp-witted, explained her name as “Kristi with an ‘I’ ’cause that’s how I thought it was spelled.” She then humorously proclaimed herself “the rarest type of person in Washington, D.C., — a brunette that Donald Trump listens to.”
In response to Day’s comment about Democrats being more eager to end the government shutdown, Fey deadpanned, “Ha, that makes me laugh more than the end of ‘Old Yeller.'”
A visibly shocked Day queried, “When the dog gets shot?”
Fey, without missing a beat, retorted, “Dogs don’t just get shot. Heroes shoot them.”
Following Fey’s unexpected recruitment pitch for ICE — (“Do you like to use zip ties because people in your life don’t trust you with keys?”) — Poehler turned to the committee, asking, “Does that answer your question?”
Jeremy Culhane, portraying Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, offered a swift and clear response: “No. Not even a little bit.”
Poehler then concluded definitively, “Then our work here is done.”
Amy Poehler’s Hosting Monologue Delivers Laughter and Nostalgia
Returning to host “S.N.L.” solo for the first time since co-hosting with Tina Fey in 2015, Amy Poehler took a trip down memory lane. She reminisced about her time on the show, humorously crediting it with helping her discover her first love: “Being famous.” She jokingly added, “I’m still on some of the amazing medications they put me on, so I will be forever grateful.”
Poehler recalled a childhood dream of becoming an actress, playfully noting, “at least until they invent an A.I. actress who’s funnier and willing to do full frontal.” She mused on the unique freedom that comes with turning 50, highlighting how “you start to not care about what people think.”
“And that’s what’s so great about ‘S.N.L.,'” Poehler quipped, extending the sentiment to the show itself, “She’s obviously stopped caring.”
Unforgettable Commercial Parodies Steal the Show
Amy Poehler’s former “Parks and Recreation” co-star, Aubrey Plaza, also made a cameo in a faux trailer for “The Hunting Wives,” a steamy Netflix drama where boundaries are non-existent—until Plaza’s character unveils a girlfriend, prompting the other wives to dramatically draw their weapons.
For fans of classic “S.N.L.” absurdity, a mock commercial for “Non-Non-Alcoholic Beer” promised “the first non-alcoholic beverage that’s over 96 percent alcohol.” Cheers to that!
Weekend Update Delivers Sharp Political Humor
At the Weekend Update desk, anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che continued their sharp commentary, this time tackling the Gaza cease-fire deal with their signature wit.
Jost kicked off with:
It’s a rare treat to open Update with good news: peace has broken out in the Middle East! The unfortunate flip side? There’s now war in Chicago. Only Trump could “Freaky Friday” Chicago and Gaza. I’m aware Trump is miffed about missing out on the Nobel Peace Prize, but let’s remember the last person to dispatch heavily armed men into an American city was Batman’s Bane, who also didn’t get a Peace Prize. While Trump undeniably deserves credit for the Gaza cease-fire, I remain a tad skeptical, given Biden brokered a similar deal nine months ago. Don’t remember it? Neither does Biden! Meanwhile, the real Nobel Peace Prize went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado—or, as Fox News surely reported, “Trump Robbed By Deranged Hispanic.”
Che followed up with:
It’s no surprise that many Middle Eastern leaders are praising President Trump for the Israel-Hamas cease-fire. It makes perfect sense to me. Sometimes, only crazy people truly understand how to talk to other crazy people. It’s like when you encounter someone, shall we say, indiscreet on the subway – you don’t just politely ask them to stop. No, you join in, and *then* you can start negotiating.
Star-Studded “Weekend Update” Reunion Lights Up the Stage
While “S.N.L.” had already deployed many of its big names for earlier anniversary events this year, it still managed to pull out some extra star power for its actual 50th birthday broadcast. Pop sensation Charli XCX, a familiar face from previous hosting and musical guest appearances, joined Role Model on stage for his performance of “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out.”
The show also orchestrated a delightful reunion, bringing back former Weekend Update anchors Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, and Seth Meyers (now the host of NBC’s “Late Night”) to their old stomping grounds. They engaged in a rapid-fire “joke off” with current anchors Jost and Che, riffing on a news item about a woman in Tennessee who delivered a 13-pound baby. The hilarious exchanges included:
POEHLER: The baby “was so big, he slapped the doctor on his ass.”
FEY: “and the new baby’s name is ‘Ahhhhhhhhh!’”
MEYERS: “Damn, did she give birth to it or did it drive out?”
CHE: “The second the baby was out, the woman zipped around the room like a deflated balloon.”
JOST: “The baby’s nickname is Magician because it basically sawed his mother in half.”